Puppy On Board
by kc78
Summary: This is a follow on from AU story called 'Puppy Love' by Tea Induced Scribbles. Burk picked up a stray puppy and brought it back onto the ship to surprise Ravit. Now, he just needs help from his friends to keep the puppy out of sight from the Captain and XO.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: A big thank you to tea induced scribbles who let me borrow 'Laces' and her story 'Puppy Love' for this super fluffy story, that characters may seem a little OOC. You have been warned. It also carries on from where that one shot ended. So I recommend you read it before this one :-)_

 **##########**

"We can't hide a dog on the ship. We have spot inspections." Danny told Burk, he couldn't believe his roommate would put him in this kind of trouble. They'd barely been roommates for week, and he'd thought Tex was bad. But Burk was taking top spot with his idea of a 'romantic gift' to Ravit meant bringing a stray into their quarters.

"We'll put her in the air vent." Burk said, Danny gave him a dark look.

"Cause that worked out great for Miller and the monkey; he wanted to save from Dr Scott's experiments." Danny said, Burk winced as they remembered the nightmare of tracking the little beasty down. There was also the fact that the pitbull mix puppy named 'Laces' probably wouldn't fit in the air vents.

"Ok, closet under an empty bag." Burk suggested.

"Cause she's going to stay still and not make a noise." Danny said, they both looked to puppy in question who was currently climbing over Halsey like he was her own personal jungle gym.

Laces playfully growled and nipped at Halsey's ear which earned her a bored look and a low growl from Halsey before he shifted his head; knocking her off for a just a second before she climbed over his nose and onto his back again. Halsey looked up Danny with a look of 'Dude, sort out this pup or I will' as it seemed Halsey was going to reach his limits soon.

"Ok, we need a network of lookouts and safe harbours on the ship." Burk told him, Danny frowned as this was just getting out of hand.

"Or you could nut up and ask permission for Ravit's sake. " Danny counter offered, it was Burk's turn to give him a dark look.

"You think the Captain and XO would allow it?" Burk asked him, Danny knew the answer to that and how much this meant to Burk. The man had a soft spot the size of Arizona for puppies and injured women. So Danny gave a resigned sigh and hoped this wouldn't bite him in the ass later.

"You'll have to talk Kara. She and Alisha might help us out. But we can't hide the puppy for long." Danny told him, Burk's face lit up

"Her name is Laces and once the city is cleared we'll be able to find an apartment and hey, Tex's kid can help us dog sit." Burk told him with a grin like they were free and clear.

"Us? there is no 'us' when she is found, I'm throwing you under the bus, buddy." Danny told him.

 **##########**

"I can't believe you, you can't smuggle pets on the ship. It's the regs." Kara hissed at Burk in the wardroom over breakfast. He was lucky that the Captain and XO hadn't picked up on Laces being on board as the puppy was not quiet. She was also super energetic and couldn't hold her bowels to save her life but then he knew it was a lack of training than anything else. But even so, Danny did not like their new roommate.

"I didn't mean to. She just looked at me and I-" Burk started but Alisha cut her off.

"Really? You're going with that?" Alisha asked drily.

"She's really cute. You know me, I can't resist a damsel in distress. So you'll help me, friends?" he asked them, Kara smiled as she'd gotten soft in her pregnancy- Alisha? not so much as she remained unchanged.

"You are such a little girl. If she pees on anything of mine you're replacing it." Alisha told him as she knew Kara wouldn't be able to say 'no' and Alisha had trouble saying 'no' to Kara as the woman had no qualms using tears to get her way. Kara was evil when it suited her.

"I can't promise that given I have a puppy that needs to be fed and go to school just like Kara and Danny." Burk said with a shrug.

"My baby is not a dog." Kara said with a frown as she self consciously rubbed a hand over her pregnant belly in a soothing manner.

"And I wished Burk'd picked up a cat. All those pussy jokes I could have made." Alisha said with a grin, Kara just shook her head in amusement.

"I don't know, she's cute. If she pees or poops it'll be tiny too. You didn't take that into account Granderson. Definitely more loveable than a feral cat." Burk said with a shrug.

"Oh my god." Alisha said incredulously as Kara snorted a laugh at Burk.

"Please, you know I'm good for babysitting. Your kid is going to vomit and poop on me at some point." He said to Kara before turning to Alisha. "And you owe me, for when you got drunk and vomited on me and in my car after Sara broke up with you." Burk said reminding Alisha of a bleak time before the pandemic.

"That hardly counts." Alisha told him, defensively.

"I had vomit all over me, my car still smells like stale vodka and crushed wedding dreams." Burk told her, Kara snorted a laugh while Alisha remained unimpressed.

"That's low." Alisha told him.

"She's the cutest puppy, look." Burk said as he pulled out his iphone and showed them a few photos. His secret weapon to seal the deal and he knew it as he smiled smugly at Alisha while Kara snatched the phone out his hand to take a closer look.

"Awwh, she's chewing on your ugly laces." Kara said as she fell for the puppy eyes that Laces had in the photo. The puppy had gotten it's teeth into Burk's bright green laces; obviously she knew she was in trouble as she looked up in the picture as if asking for forgiveness.

"Don't fall it," Alisha told Kara as she tried to take the phone only to fail.

"But, but look at those eyes." Kara told Alisha as she turned the screen Alisha's way. "So gorgeous." Kara told her, Alisha gave a resigned sigh as Kara did her own version of puppy dog eyes at Alisha, a silent plea to allow Laces to be in their quarters.

"Fine, we'll help you but if we get caught with it. We're pointing the finger at you." Alisha told Burk while Kara smiled and turned her attention back to the phone and went gooey over another picture.

"No problem." Burk told her as he smiled at his small victory.

 **##########**

Laces laid on her belly with her head between her paws. She looked at her new companion while she was thought about her new home. She was confused and felt lost as she did not understand her Human, she remembered the first time she'd seen him. She liked his laugh, it was much nicer on her ears than the other one in his company. After so long of being on her own, she was ready to find a home.

All her other siblings had run away when their mommy had died. She had been killed by another Human, a really mean and ugly looking one too. His smell was disgusting, not like her Human.

He smelt warm and spicy, clean like fresh water. His home was huge iron beast that floated in the water. She wished she could explore it but she was being kept in a room. She knew she should sad at being left behind again but she wasn't alone. She wiggled over to her new companion and playfully nudged his head and licked his nose. Her tail thumped happily as he looked her way with a withered look.

He was called Halsey by the others, he belonged to the other Human. Halsey didn't like to play, he seemed to sleep a lot or lay on his side pretending to sleep. He didn't talk or move much even though she tried to get him up. She wondered if this was what all old dogs did. So instead of annoying him, she moved to the door and sniffed at the frame. She smiled as she could smell many different and fascinating aromas that she really wanted to follow. But for now she was stuck in the room with Halsey, so she moved to his side and curled up next to his body for heat before closing her eyes and drifting off to sleep.

 **##########**


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Note: And then there was more. I will post every second day from now on so I have time to edit and read over! Thank you for the lovely reviews, it's always great to get feedback!_

 **########**

"There something off about officer country to you?" Tom asked Mike, a few days later.

"Off?" Mike asked for clarification.

"The smell." Tom said making a face. Mike gave a nod as he knew exactly what Tom was talking about.

"Halsey apparently got the squits from an out of date can of tuna." Mike offered, it was what he'd been told when he located the stench coming from Green and Burk's quarters. He didn't care to look for himself but ordered them to clean it up themselves. Halsey was Green's dog thus his responsibility. But it didn't resolve the problem of the smell.

"Ugh, glad it's not my problem but can't we get the dog off the ship?" Tom asked Mike, something they both wished for. They didn't mind Halsey but they both agreed a ship was no place for a dog.

"We've cleared a good section of the city. The local Mayor is happy to divide the housing between the civilians and Navy Personnel." Mike informed him, not that it was a priority but he like many of the crew were getting cabin fever from being on the ship for such an extended time.

"Let's get on it. Make sure Green and Burk deep clean their quarters." Tom told him, glad to hear of the news.

"Will do, do you want me to pop out to the shops and get a toilet freshener?" Mike asked him jokingly.

"Please, I think we'll need to burn sage at this stage." Tom told him, Mike snorted a laugh at the remark but made a mental note of his orders.

 **########**

"Ok, everything is looking good." Rachel told Ravit as she pulled the pressure cuff off Ravit's arm and place it to the side. Ravit gave a relieved smile, it was hard to tell if she was getting any better when she just laid in bed all day on meds. The drugs made her feel pretty invincible until she needed to get up for the bathroom. Then she remembered her back was a mess, it was healing but her muscles had wasted some in her resting period.

"Thank you." Ravit told her as it was good news.

"Don't mention it, you've got a long recovery ahead of you. The hospital is still being cleaned up, but I'm told we'll be able to move you there tomorrow morning. It should be a lot more comfortable there than here." Rachel told her.

"It would be nice to have a room with a view, but to honest, I'm just grateful to still be here." Ravit said, she was lucky given it had been a close call on the oil rig. If it hadn't been for Rachel's adamant demand to triage her above the Captain, Ravit would've died. It hadn't been a popular decision but she and Captain Chandler had survived. It was just a pain in the ass that the Captain was up and walking while she struggled to put one foot in front of the other. But she reminded herself to remember, she was alive and blessed.

"I'll leave you to rest." Rachel said to her, Ravit gave a nod as she would have preferred company but knew Rachel had more important thing to do than it around with her.

"Thank you Doctor." Ravit said, Rachel gave her a warm smile and rose from her stool and moved to the doorway only to run straight into Burk.

"Oh, sorry." Burk said as he hadn't realised that Ravit would have a visitor at this hour. Ravit smiled as Burk moved to the side to let Rachel pass and as she died a soft whine sounded from Burk's position or more like his backpack.

"What was that?" Rachel asked with a frown looking at Burk. Ravit covered her smile with her hand and watched Burk struggle to explain the noise away.

"My stomach." Burk said to her, his tone slightly unsure as a cute but muffled whimper escaped from his backpack.

"Really?" Rachel asked sceptically.

"I have a spastic colon." Burk offered, then a small bark sounded. "It plays up when I eat cheese." He added.

"Or you swallowed a small animal? Perhaps a puppy?" She offered with a mocking smile as Burk's jaw dropped at being caught and he didn't know what to say. "No secrets on the James." She told him, she tapped the side of nose.

"Don't tell the XO or the CO, please." Burk pleaded.

"I'm already in enough trouble. What's a little more?" she asked him.

"Thanks Doc." Burk said with a smile of relief. He must have walked her out as Ravit heard the door to the infirmary close, and lock. Then Burk appeared at the doorway. "Hey." he said to her.

"Hi, spastic colon? I thought I called her 'Laces'." Ravit said, with a smile. The man was good looking but not to bright given he couldn't talk his way out of paper bag. But she liked that he couldn't lie to her, it meant she never had to worry about him trying dupe her.

"Given the smells she makes, I think Spastic Colon would be a better name for her." Burk said as he lifted Laces out of his bag. She yelped happily and tried to lick his chin, her tail wagging happily as he placed her onto the bed. She raced up to Ravit and starting lathering her with puppy kisses.

"Hi, hi." Ravit said happily as she greeted Laces, the puppy was just full of energy and so happy that she shook with excitement.

"She was getting noisy wanting to see you." Burk said as he pulled up a stool and sat down watching them.

"She's not made for a ship." Ravit told him, she liked the idea of keeping Laces but it wasn't fair to the puppy. She needed a home with some space to play. Not be stuck on the ship like Ravit was.

"It's only temporary." Burk assured her.

"You found me an apartment out there?" Ravit asked him as she managed to calm Laces down so the puppy wasn't racing all over her.

"Ground floor apartment, it's about a block away from the hospital. Apparently no one wants to live next to the hospital given the pandemic." Burk told her.

"Seriously?" She asked him genuinely surprised.

"No, but I'm looking." He told her, she smiled at his thoughtfulness. "Today, we are going to the vet with Wolf." He added gesturing to Laces.

"Good, Wolf needs to get his shots and probably be dewormed given what a grouch he is." Ravit joked, Burk laughed.

 **########**

Laces climbed over her Human's friend. She smelt very different from her Human and there was a harsh note to her scent, but Laces had a feeling it was the room not the Human who was laying on a squishy surface. But she already loved her, the Human was super warm and friendly. She also scratched Laces behind the ears just how Laces liked and massaged her back.

Laces hadn't known until now how much she'd loved massages until her Human brought her to his home. But she did and she also enjoyed the human who was rubbing her back. She had a really soothing voice, and presence that reminded her of her Mommy. She nuzzled her face into the human's belly; getting closer to soak up her warmth and scent. She gave a yawn as she closed her eyes letting sleep take her.

 **########**

"So, you boys know your mission?" Andrea asked Wolf and Burk.

"Yes Ma'am," they both said in unison, but as soon they finished a loud fart sounded from Burk's direction or more like his pack but Andrea didn't know that. She just looked at them trying to keep a serious expression on her face. Burk and Wolf tried to keep their faces straight and to find the right words. A total of 5 awkward seconds passed before Burk found the words.

"Pardon me, I apologise Ma'am. I ate the burrito MRE." Burk said awkwardly, they were all trying not to laugh and gag at the smell coming from his direction. He made a mental not to ask the vet about what food to give the puppy as what he and Danny had been giving Laces was turning her into a biological weapon.

"Do you need medical leave?" Andrea asked him with a slightly pinched expression on her face.

"No, Ma'am." Burk assured her.

"Then go and shake your leg somewhere far far away from me next time." Andrea told him sternly.

"Yes, Ma'am." Burk said with a nod as he and Wolf took off before they were asked to come back. Once they were far away from Andrea Wolf and Burk laughed and shook their head as the smell just carried with them.

"Oh, that is just rank." Wolf said stepping away from Burk. "What are you feeding her?" Wolf asked.

"Same as Halsey." Burk said, he was a little afraid to open his pack but he would have to eventually. He was glad he'd put his lunch into Wolf's pack as he probably wouldn't have touched it otherwise.

"Lucky we're going to a vet as that puppy needs help." Wolf told him.


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's Note: Thank you all for the awesome reviews! as promised an update. There aren't many chapters left but I'll be happy to add more if you have suggestions of who you'd like Laces to play with :-)_

 **########**

Laces did looked up at the two humans before her. She'd learnt that they were not like her human, the smelt softer and their voices almost melodic to her ears. They also really liked cuddling and rubbing her back which Laces was not complaining about. She liked it, she loved not being alone anymore. Halsey had been away from their room for a long time, she didn't know how long as she couldn't see the sun. She hadn't seen it for more than a day.

She didn't like when her Human put her into the dark place and to take her places. She also wanted to run free like Halsey. He was allowed out of the smaller rooms, he could play outside whenever he pushed his Human. Laces wanted to do the same, but was afraid of what would happen if she wasn't allowed outside when she wanted it. Now she was left with new humans, at least they were cheerful to see her and cuddle with her.

 **########**

"Ok, I'm going to CIC. You know how to look after Laces?" Kara asked her.

"Yeah, keep her in the newspaper-ed milk crate. No mess, no stress" Alisha said with a grin as she was laying on the bottom bunk reading a book. Laces was on the floor looking between the two. They had nicked a milk crate from the kitchens and put newspaper in it and on the floor of their quarters in case Laces had an accident and used a bowl with water so the puppy had something to drink.

"Alisha." Kara gently chastised, she knelt down and tickled Laces making the puppy squirm and wriggle in delight.

"I'll play with her for a bit. But let's be realistic, I'm not an animal person." Alisha told her in a matter of fact tone.

"Not even cats?" Kara asked her.

"No thanks." Alisha said with obvious disgust.

"Ok, well I have to go but Tex said he'd be by within the hour to take Laces off the ship. Won't that be nice?" She asked Laces, the puppy licked her hand and then tried to latch onto the band of her watch to play tug of war.

"It will be for me." Alisha quipped drily as Laces wasn't going to speak. "You're going to be late." Alisha added.

"Right." Kara said, she reluctantly rose to her feet and moved to the door but as she opened it she saw Laces was going to follow her. "Oh no, you stay inside the room. Sit." she told Laces, the puppy looked unsure but then sat down. Kara smiled and closed the door even though part of her felt sad at doing so.

 **########**

Laces pouted as she watched the door close. It wasn't fair. She wanted to play and explore the beast she was living inside of. To follow all the magical smells. She looked to the human who was laying on a bunk reading a book. She whimpered, hoping it would move the human to open the door. Except, it didn't work, so Laces whimpered again and barked.

The human mumbled something at her and shook her head. She didn't move, so Laces moved to the door and scratched at it, hoping the message would be heard. It seemed to as knock sounded, Laces smiled in excitement, her tail wagging and moved back as the Human on the bed rose to her feet.

The human opened the door and scowled at the other Human on the other side. It wasn't a good sign but the door was open.

 **########**

"What are you doing here?" Alisha asked Val, she had hoped Tex was early but no luck. Instead Val was at her door, the woman left Alisha unsettled and stressed out every time they met. If she were honest, she wasn't stressed out more like turned on but Val was not her type. Val was the opposite of her type, maybe that was what twisted Alisha up in knots.

"I need help." Val told her. She leaned on the wall and looked her over. It made Alisha a little self conscious given she was in her civilian clothes of a worn red long sleeve top and her sleep shorts. She wondered what Val thought, she obviously approved given she didn't have a snide remark about it.

"With what?" Alisha asked her sceptically and she gave a slow exhale for her frayed nerves. Val never needed help, she never asked for it either until now.

"Communications issue, you're the only one who understands that room and my tech." Val said, there was something underlying her tone which made Alisha wonder if Val was flirting with her.

"Really?" Alisha drawled, she frowned as Laces hadn't made herself known and she was the friendliest puppy in existence. Alisha's stomach dropped as she looked around the room, her eyes wide as he realised her stupid move. "Where's the puppy?" she asked Val. Why hadn't she noticed the puppy escape!?

"What puppy?" Val asked confused as Alisha looked around her room and then stepped into the hallway.

"Oh my god!" Alisha exclaimed in frustration as she was so screwed and not in the good sense. "Laces?" she called in a low voice. She really hoped that puppy knew its own name.

"Laces?" Val asked.

"It's the dog's name." Alisha told her.

"You have a dog?" Val asked surprised and still confused as to what was going on.

"No, I don't. It's a friend's and we have to find it." Alisha told her.

"We?" Val asked.

"You distracted me." Alisha told her.

"I distracted you? have you seen what you're wearing. That is-" Val stopped as Alisha gave her a look of censure which kind of a turn on for her. Val was a woman of weird and wonderful tastes, she had to admit Alisha was Hot and now she was a damsel in distress. It meant an in for her if she could find the lost puppy. "Ok, I'm helping." Val said holding her hands up in surrender.

"Ok, you go that way. If you see her. Catch her and bring her back here." Alisha told her.

 **########**

Laces smiled as she raced through the corridor, she was free! And everything was so new and different. She put her nose to the ground immediately and starting taking in the new scents. She could follow the scent of her human and find him. Oh how it'd be a fun surprise and then they could play outside on the beast.

She gave a happy yelp as she picked up his trail.

 **########**

Mike frowned as he walked through the P-way to his quarters and caught the sound of a yelp. Not the kind of yelp he imagined a person making either. He would've brushed it off as Halsey but it was too light and lacking the gruff edge of age.

Instinct told him to check it out, so he made a left at where he assumed it came from and bumped straight into Val. He stepped back and looked down at the slender woman who had hair like an old mop but the attitude of an over entitled brat.

"What are you doing up here?" he asked her.

"Tripping over the stupid doorways. Who designed this ship?" Val asked him as she brushed off her clothing. He gave her questioning look as he was immaculate if anyone should be dusting their clothes off it would be him. But he was too polite to so in Val's presence.

"You were making that noise?" He asked her.

"Yes, it was an exclamation of pain. My shins hurt like a mo-"

"Language, " Mike told her before she could finish the sentence. He knew she was lying. Something was going on, and Val was covering for who or whatever it was.

"Yeah, I forgot how uptight you military people are. Now if you'll excuse me?" Val said gesturing for him to move.

"By all means." Mike drawled, he stepped out of the way and watched her pass by. He waited about a minute before he looked at the P-Way in question, the only problem with Val's explanation was that there were no knee knockers. There was nothing to suggest where the source of the noise came either. He frowned as something was definitely going on , he didn't like secrets on his and Tom's ship.

 **########**

"All good?" Val asked as she came into Alisha's quarters, it had been a close call with the XO but she was pretty sure he hadn't seen Alisha grab the puppy and run down another P-way.

"Yeah, thanks." Alisha said as she held the puppy in her hands. The Puppy wagged it's tail happily for a few seconds before it registered that Alisha was not pleased.

"Anytime, hello escape artist." Val said she reached out to pet it assuming that's what people did with animals when it's tongue licked her fingers. "Ew, it licked me." she said as she wiped the puppy saliva on the dog's fur.

"They do that." Alisha said as she placed the puppy into a milk crate. "Stay."she told it. The puppy got up onto it's hind legs and placed it's front paws on the edge of the crate.

"She's kind of cute, from a distance." Val said as she and Alisha looked down at the puppy.

"Not an animal person?" Alisha asked.

"Like you are?" Val scoffed glad she wasn't the only one who couldn't relate to non human entities.

"I wasn't allowed pets as a kid." Alisha told her, the first real personal details she had shared with Val.

"My parents told me I was their pet so why would they need another animal in the house." Val said offering an explanation to her aversion to animals.

"That actually makes a lot of sense." Alisha said thoughtfully, Val frowned at her but she couldn't help but smile which softened Val's expression. "Thanks for helping me." she told her.

 **########**

Laces pouted from inside her milk crate. She'd been free and on her way, she'd leaped over walls and then she'd been picked up. Brought back to the smaller room and placed in her milk crate. The humans looked down at her, watching her carefully now. She felt the crate about to fall but the one with weird long fur pushed the crate up with a boot. It held it up so Laces gave up and dropped her paws down.

She gave a low whine and dropped her head onto her paws. She needed a new plan to find her human and be free of the small rooms and being carried in the dark. With that in mind, she had to start thinking of a new escape plan.


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's Note: Thank you all for the reviews! I really appreciate them and as promised another update as it is the second day. I'm working on new chapters as we speak as I love the ideas you shared and want to incorporate them in with what I have. Thank you! :-)_

 **########**

"She's so cute." Kat said as she pressed her face into Laces' soft fur. They had picked up the puppy from Kara and Alisha's quarters. Val and Alisha were grateful and more than happy to hand Laces over to them.

"Remember-" Tex stopped mid reminder that the puppy wasn't there's when Andrea appeared at the end of the P-Way. She did not look happy to see them as she walked towards them.

"Tex!" Andrea said, her eyes went to the puppy that was licking Kat's chin and making his daughter smile.

"Red!" Tex said with a smile, he was really in the stink now.

"You can't have that on the ship." Andrea said as she pointed at Laces.

"Captain said it was ok to have Kat on the ship." Tex said with a frown, purposefully being obtuse.

"I was talking about the puppy." Andrea said darkly as they both knew to what she was referring to and it wasn't Kat.

"We're taking her off ship. Want to see our new digs. Plenty of space for the puppy and kid to run and be free." Tex said teasingly as he ruffled Kat's hair.

"You can barely look after me let alone a dog." Kat quipped like a pro mean girl.

"Yet here you are, old and wise at the age of 14 years." Tex pointed out in good humour as he knew she was just joking as she was clearly enjoying the spot of bother they were in. Andrea looked unimpressed with them.

"There are regs, no dogs on the ship." Andrea told him.

"You should tell Danny that." Tex told her. Andrea glowered at him as they both knew the difference in the situation here.

"Halsey isn't a puppy, he's a work dog not a pet." Andrea said, Tex lifted Laces out of Kat's arms.

"She's in training, look fierce Laces. Growl." Tex said as he held the dog under it's front legs out to Andrea. The puppy just hung its tongue out and panted as her tail wagged happily.

"Very fierce." Andrea remarked drily, Tex brought Laces back into his arms like he were holding a bably. He wasn't going to put her down until they were on solid earth. Last thing he needed was it to fall overboard, or worse get hung by it's leash.

"So you want to see our digs? Kat will cook dinner." Tex said changing the topic as he gave Laces a belly rub, the puppy licked at his hands until she decided his shirt was tasty and started tugging on a hole in the pocket.

"What?" Kat asked confused and not impressed.

"Ok, I'll order a pizza." he said to Kat, he then grinned at Andrea. "In or out Red?" he asked her.

"Please come over and save me." Kat said in a droll teenage manner before Andrea could answer. Andrea snorted a laugh at the two and the puppy who was gnawing on Tex. It was hard not to refuse and frankly she couldn't see why she shouldn't go. It was just dinner.

"I'll be there at 1900 hours and get that puppy off the ship before the Captain or XO see it." Andrea told them.

"That's 7pm." He whispered to Kat like she had no clue and he was doing her a favour.

"I know." Kat told him with a roll of her eyes.

 **########**

Laces ran around the grassy backyard, she liked the fresh air and these new Humans were fun even somewhat scary given the Human covered in a lot of fur liked to chase her a lot and his youngling just laughed at the mayhem. They also gave her toys to play with and they let her sleep in the sun.

She loved sleeping in the sun and then she woke up, had some water and went running again as the youngling Human chased and played with her. She came to a stop as she ran out of breath and panted as her tiny body was hot from all the running.

She wished her Human as here as she missed him, but she was glad be outside and able to run even if it was just for a while. Hopefully her Human would come and play with them too.

 **########**

"Thanks for dinner," Andrea said as she helped Tex clean up. Kat had been excused to escape to her room as Val's valiant work had revived a semi functional internet, Kat like all teens thrived on having every morsel of technology of the old world back. Laces had passed out from all the exertion and food, that they left her in the lounge room on a pillow as she catch her z's.

"Anytime Red, thanks for helping with Kat. It means a lot." Tex said, life was a little transitory at the moment and Andrea had helped him out by keeping an eye on Kat when he had to work and sort out finding accommodation off the ship.

"She's a good kid, good head on her for engineering." Andrea said with self effacing manner and shrug. She realised all the dishes were dry a sign that dinner had come to end and so had the night. She was about to say so when Tex seemed to read her mind.

"You know that you don't have to go." he told her as he drained the sink and turned to her.

"I should." Andrea told him.

"No, you should stay." Tex said as he moved in close drying his hands on the tea towel. She idly wondered when such an innocent act seemed so intimate.

"Don't kiss me." She told him, it wasn't that she didn't want him to. It was that she was afraid she'd like it and it would weaken her resolve. But in saying that, she hadn't exactly stepped away from him.

"Why not? You'll like it." Tex argued with a salacious smile.

"I don't kno-" but before she could finish the answer Tex pulled her into a kiss. Her brain fried from the pleasure, she gave a moan as her hands gripped onto his shirt pulling him close. She'd forgotten how good it was to be kissed, to be desired.

 **########**

Laces woke up and pushed to her paws. She yawned and stretched her back before she looked for the Humans. She wondered when her Human would be back. She couldn't smell him here, part of her felt sad wondering if maybe he abandoned her. She hoped not, she padded slowly across the floor and moved into the kitchen. She frowned and tilted her head to the side as she looked up at the Humans. They were doing something she'd never seen Humans do before. She wondered why they were doing it, but then the Human who smelt of engine oil and vanilla pulled back and smiled at the furry Human. It must have been fun as they both laugh before he pulled her face into his furry one again. She really didn't get it, she gave a shrug figuring they were happy which had to be good right?


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's Note: Thank you all for the awesome reviews! I deeply appreciate them and as promised another update as it is the second day. Thank you! :-)_

 **########**

Laces saw the piece of meat in the Human's hand and drooled as it was delicious. He said 'sit'. She plonked her backside down as he'd shown her a heap of times until she understood what he was doing. He wanted her to follow his command, and she'd do it if he kept feeding her with yummy food and belly rubs.

He smiled and praised her with a big smile on his face and gave her a treat like he did every other time. She ate it with gusto, before rolling onto her back. The human laughed as he obliged her.

 **########**

"You're spoiling her." Wolf told Miller as he was reading in his bunk, he dropped his book down to look at the man who was currently giving Laces yet another belly rub.

"I like dogs." Miller said with a shrug as he returned his attention to Laces to try and teach her another trick. She had 'Sit' down pat but other commands and her own name were still a bit of a hit and miss situation.

"Burk is supposed to be training her." Wolf reminded him.

"He's busy, and I don't mind." Miller said as he threw a tiny stick down the long hallway of the sleeping berths for the enlisted. Majority of NCO crew were on duty, those in their berths didn't care about the puppy being there as long as said puppy didn't take a crap near their bunk.

He smiled as he and Laces played tug of war with the stick before she released it to let him throw it again.

He was about to do so when his radio clicked three times. "Oh no," he said as it signal that the Master chief was coming their way.

He picked up Laces and froze as he didn't know where to hide her.

"Don't put her in the drawer." Wolf warned him as it had been a through to put her in the drawer under his bunk. But he was right, it would end badly.

"I'm not sure when we'll get housing but you'll know when I know, O'Connor." Master Chief said his voice carrying in from the hallway.

Miller freaked and opened the curtain of Cruz's bunk without thinking and placed her inside.

"Sit", he told her, she sat on the mattress by Cruz's legs. Her tail thumped happily on the mattress as he tossed the rest of the broken pieces of jerky and closed the curtain. He just hoped that Cruz wouldn't wake up and that Master Chief's talk would be short.

"Miller," Master Chief called as he appeared in the corridor of the sleeping berths.

 **########**

Laces ate the yummy food and climbed over the lump to the other side to eat the other pieces that landed. When she was done, she looked around, the floor was squishy and she could smell a Human. Sadly, not her human but every human she met seemed to be nice, so she sniffed him to see if he was hiding any food. When she didn't find any she moved up to his face and looked at him. He didn't seem to notice her as his eyes were closed,he wondered if he was asleep but could only think of one way to know for sure.

 **########**

Cruz had been drifting in and out of sleep, the beautiful state of dreaming and feeling good. He dreamed of a beautiful woman in his arms, doing unspeakably delicious things to him and vice versa. He smiled as she sensually dragged her tongue up the side of his face and it was hot. At least it had been until he woke from a loud bang and opened his eyes to find him nose to nose with a puppy.

She licked his nose, her tail thumping against the wall of the bunk in the dim light. He scrunched his face in disgust as she moved in and tried to lick his mouth.

"ugh, no. cut it out!" Cruz told the puppy as he gently pushed her face away from his. The curtain to his bunk open and light flooded in.

"First time you've turned down a girl in a while, aye mate?" Wolf joked as he and Miller stood on the outside peering in. Cruz glowered at them as he pushed Laces' face away as she tried to lick the back of his head.

"Why is Burk's dog in my bunk?" Cruz asked them.

"Hey, don't be rude, she has a name." Wolf said mockingly as he was enjoying this.

"We had to hide her somewhere. Master Chief was here. Roster change." Miller told him.

"There are over twenty bunks. Why mine?" Cruz asked him incredulously.

"The curtain was closed." Miller offered as explanation, "Come on Laces, ignore Cruz, he's just cranky." Miller said, Laces made a happy noise went for him.

"Oh man! Seriously?!" Cruz complained as the puppy practically climbed over his face to get Miller. "This puppy better not have fouled my bunk or we're switching." Cruz added as he sniffed the air and looked down at the bedding.

"Doesn't smell like it." Miller commented, boy was he lucky as Cruz was pissed. Cruz pointed at him and gave him a warning look as he was not a man to trifled with especially when his nap was interrupted.

"You got lucky. This time, next time hide that dog somewhere else." Cruz told him.

"Wow, you really hate dogs." Miller said as he held Laces in his arms. She was trying to get back into the bunk with Cruz, but he held onto her given Cruz wasn't a happy camper.

"How can you hate on this face, she loves you mate." Wolf said pointing to Laces, she seemed to sense Cruz's dark mood and quietened her enthusiasm to the point she was giving him puppy eyes of 'Why don't you love me?'.

"I don't hate dogs, I just don't sleep with them or want one crawling all over me in my bunk." Cruz clarified.

"I'll keep that in mind when I'm your wing man." Wolf quipped with shit eating grin as Cruz looked ready smack him.


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's Note: Thank you all for the amazing reviews! keep them coming as I deeply appreciate them and as promised another update but tonight as I won't be able to post it tomorrow. Thank you! :-)_

 **########**

"Never gonna to give you up! Never gonna let you down.." Wolf sang in the shower, water rushing down his body and he did a small dance. He was careful with his feet as Laces was running around in the shower with him. It wasn't choice. The puppy had fled Burk's grasp and into the shower; Burk wasn't going in there in case someone came in. He didn't need the jokes about him 'basking' in Wolf's naked glory.

"Dude, you're butchering that song." Burk told Wolf as the man had this incessant need to always sing in the shower. Laces was in there yowling with him. He was wondering how they'd made it this far without being caught but another part of him sensed that maybe the senior leadership were waiting for them to slip up. Either way

"I have three minutes and this is how I time it." Wolf told him before he started singing again. "Never gonna run around and desert youu!" he sang loudly as Laces howled with him.

Burk shook his head as he rinsed his razor. He had the day off, which meant he and Laces were going to see Ravit at the hospital and then have some play time in the park. He just had to get Laces out of the shower.

Wolf's three minutes passed quickly, thankfully and the man stepped out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his hips. Laces trailed behind him and shook out her fur; spraying water around her. She gave a happy yelp and went over to Wolf. She obviously wanted to go back in as she jumped up at him.

"Sit." Wolf told Laces and the puppy plonked her ass on the floor. "Good girl." Wolf told her, Laces' tail thumped the floor as she waited for them to take her into the shower. "You should really train her otherwise Miller will steal her." he told Burk.

"Not likely, Laces is Ravit's dog." Burk said as they both went with their own bathroom routines.

"We'll see." Wolf said, as he put on deodorant while his arms were up. Laces' patience was up, she moved to Wolf and latched her mouth onto the corner of his towel and yanked it off as Kara followed closely by Alisha came into the mens' shower room.

"Knock, knock. Women's shower is still- Wolf, do you mind?" Kara asked him, her eyes had averted to the ceiling but not before she caught an eyeful of Wolf and what he was packing. A blush blazed across her cheeks as this was not how her morning was supposed to go.

"Come on dude, put it away!" Alisha told Wolf in disgust, but his towel was halfway across the floor being dragged by Laces who thought she was going to get Wolf back into the shower.

"I am not ashamed of my nudity." Wolf told them as he brazenly stood there in his glory not hiding a thing about himself.

"That's admirable of you; Taylor, but I prefer you not put on a show for the crew." Captain Chandler said as he'd just walked past the door and stopped to see what was going on. Everyone bar the Captain; froze and then pretended to act cool as Alisha and Kara purposefully moved to position their legs to create a barrier. Burk did his best not to look at Wolf or Laces who had trailed Wolf's towel back into the shower stall out of sight.

"Yes, Sir." Wolf said acknowledging the order as moved into one of the toilet stalls with his clothes. The Captain eyed them all for a moment wondering what had them all acting a little unnatural but he was late for a meeting. So it would have to wait.

"Carry on." he told them before he walked away.

 **########**

Ravit laughed as Burk regaled her with his morning and Laces' antics. She was sad she missed it all. But they were here now, she watched Laces run around the small area that her leash allowed before coming back to them. They would have let her off the leash but last time they did that, Laces gnaw on a man's crutch, at least it wasn't the man's crotch which had been the joke that hadn't earned any good will for Burk or Laces. Ravit had laughed at the dark look the two had gotten to the point it had hurt.

"You don't think we're being unfair to Laces?" Ravit asked him, she slouched back in her wheelchair as she cradled her cup of tea in her hands. There were outside in the park area of the hospital enjoying the sun and puppy antics. It felt good to take in the fresh air and sunshine. It felt good to be with Burk and Laces.

"About what?" Burk asked her as he poured sugar into his coffee and stirred it.

"She needs a proper home with space." Ravit told him as much as Laces was a happy puppy, she felt it wasn't healthy having the puppy on the ship. Laces needed a home and people who care for her on a full time basis.

"She'll get one, I'm still searching and even then it comes down to the housing commission granting us property. And she gets out." Burk said, he reassured her with a smile.

"I feel bad as I know what it's like to be in a tiny room." Ravit told him.

"Day before yesterday, she was with Tex and Kat at his place. I spoke with Kat, she said she'd be happy to dog sit for us at our place when we get a home." He said before taking a sip of his coffee.

"Our place, we haven't even had a date or a proper kiss." Ravit said, it was true given their first kiss wasn't overly romantic. Delicious and a turn on; yes. Romantic not so much given she'd snapped his nose into place. After that, he'd basically laid down the law of 'no fraternisation'.

"We could fix one of those issues right now." Burk said as he placed his coffee on the table and took her tea out of hands. He placed it on the table and pulled her towards him. She appreciated the gesture of what he was about to do but she was being serious.

"You don't think it's too fast to move in with one another?" She asked him, she might have wanted to tell him to back off but she liked how his hands felt on her skin. His hands moved up her hands; trailing up her arms, over her shoulders to cup her face and neck. She gravitated towards him, lulled in the chemistry and just feeling the moment out.

"No, I think this feels right to me, don't you?" He asked her, his lips just a whisper away from her own. He kissed her. Lightly at first. His lips were so soft and warm as he brushed them across hers. Ravit felt herself relax further into his hands and kiss only to have him he pull back slightly to hear her answer.

"Yeah." She breathed, she felt his smile than saw it because a second later his lips were on hers again. But this time, he kissed her more completely this time, covering her mouth with his. This was definitely a much better kiss than the first one, the lack of blood and more tongue was an improvement.

 **########**

Laces tried to chase a cricket but her leash kept her from her prey. It wasn't fair but she understood why it was so. Her Human was protecting her from dangers like angry Humans, cars and what not. But she had to admit, it still sucked. She turned around and frowned as her Humans were mashing their faces together like the others had the other night.

She didn't get why they were doing it. Didn't they need to breathe? she moved towards them watching them for a few seconds before she realised that they might die if they didn't breathe. Afraid of losing her Humans, she started to bark and jump onto them. It took a few tries but they stopped mashing faces. Much to her relief, they laughed and smiled at her. It was good to know they weren't going to die but man, it just added another thing to her list of things to do as she was going to have to keep a closer eye on them. Otherwise they'd die and she would be all alone again.


	7. Chapter 7

_Author's Note: Thank you all for the amazing reviews! keep them coming as I love them :-)_

 **########**

"We can't keep smuggling her off the ship." Wolf told Burk in a low voice as they were gearing up to go off the ship. Laces was sleeping inside Burk's pack that was on the floor by his feet. Wolf felt sorry for Laces as the puppy needed a home and not to be shuffled around on the ship.

"It's worked for a week and Ravit has been transferred off the ship. So all I need is an apartment and all is good." Burk said as he checked the sights on his weapon and packed extra ammo into his vest.

"She needs space and she's going to get too big for your pack soon. Not to mention, I think the Captain and XO are onto you." Wolf said, Burk thought on it for a moment but shook his head as the Captain or XO would've said something.

"Nah, they don't know a thing and we said Halsey got the runs from spoiled food to cover majority of the smells. But today, we're going to visit Ravit and then play in park." Burk told him.

 **########**

Laces pushed her nose through the hole in the bag, the zipper opened wider to the point she could just squeeze out. She smiled as it was a struggle but she could see light and smell many humans. She managed to squeeze out the bag and looked up at her Human. He seemed distracted by whatever he was doing. Part of her wanted to get his attention but the other part of her that wanted to explore won out.

And so, she took off, taking in the smells and looking around, the Humans didn't seem to notice her but she wasn't taking any chances.

 **########**

Wright sat in CIC trying not to fall asleep at his station as he had been up all night talking with Ensign Jaffe trying to get her out of her coveralls. But all she wanted to do was talk, as the woman was a devout chastity belt wearer. It was a shame as she was hot.

He frowned as he felt something brush past his legs. He looked to Nishioka who manned the station beside him.

"You touch my calf?" he asked in a low voice. Nishioka looked at him incredulously.

"No, why would I do that?" Nishioka asked making a face at him.

"I felt something touch me. I figured it was you." Wright told him.

"You wish buddy." Nishioka said chuckling, and then he froze as he felt something under his station nudge his shin. He looked under his station, his eyes went wide as tiny grey pitbull puppy sat on his boot as it gnawed on a cord. He lifted his head up and looked around the room.

"What?" Wright asked.

"There's a puppy under my desk." Nishioka whispered.

"That's some pick up line." Wright joked before he laughed at his own joke.

"I'm being serious." Nishioka told him. Wright stuck his head on the table and came back up with worried look.

"Shit, it's eating your tech. If Lt Foster finds out, your ass is toast." Wright hissed at him.

"What-" Nishioka was about to ask what he was supposed to do but the devil in the form of their TAO appeared behind them.

"Everything okay over here?" Kara asked them. They both froze and then looked up at her with false smiles pretending everything was fine.

"Yes, Ma'am. We were just discussing how Hooters survived the pandemic. That have great wings." Wright said awkwardly as he struggled with the lie. He couldn't exactly say 'Hey, there's an unauthorised animal under Nishioka's desk' because he didn't want to get in trouble. This was one of those situations just like a fart; whoever smelt it dealt it. So it would be assumed they brought the puppy in.

"Totally great wings, but I was thinking beers after shift." Nishioka said lamely, he nudged the puppy but it hadn't moved, well it had off his boot. But it was still there gnawing on a cord.

"Ok, you can chat. Just stay focussed. I know we're home safe but vigilance is still required given the Immunes are still out there." Kara told them.

"Yes, Ma'am." The men said in unison. She gave a nod and walked away. Wright watched and when Kara's back was turned he tapped Nishioka on the shoulder.

Nishioka stuck his head under the desk and reached for the puppy. He tried to pull the cord from its mouth but it gave a cute growl thinking it was a game.

"Let go." Nishioka hissed at the puppy. But the puppy held on, he dropped the cord as it was no use. The puppy seemed to lose interest in the cord and looked up at him.

 **########**

Laces smiled at the Human wondering if he wanted to play with her but he didn't look happy. If anything he looked worried. She wondered why but she didn't get any answers as she scented a familiar scent. It was the friend of her Human. The one who was going to her own puppies soon.

She realised if she was caught by her then she would have to go back to her small room. She'd be alone, so she looked around for an exit and saw a sliver light coming from an open door. She raced as fast as she could out the door.

 **########**

Jeter left the Captain's stateroom was heading to the mess for lunch. He would've stayed with the rest of the senior leadership but he had work to get on top of. They didn't need him.

He enjoyed the peacefulness of the ship as he strolled the P-ways. The engine wasn't churning and a skeleton crew on duty. It reminded him of the last day of school when he was a kid, everyone skipped but he went out of choice as it was a day where one could do anything as the teachers gave up trying to teach them something.

He was halfway through his thoughts when he heard tiny clicking noise of tiny nails skating across the lino covered floors. He paused frowning as nothing on the ship should make such a noise. He tread slow and careful not making a noise as he wondered if they'd picked up rodents. It had happened in the past.

He searched the P-ways on the level he was on and listened for the noise but whatever it was had gone without it making more; he had no way of following it. But he made mental note to keep an ear out for the noise.

 **########**

Laces followed her nose as she smelt the most delicious food. Sure, she had breakfast but this was the scent of treats. Who ever had the treats would give her food and water, cause she was thirsty. The beast she lived in was huge. She was sure she'd get lost but she picked up on the sent of her Human. This area he moved through a lot. She wondered why he'd hold out on her.

She only saved his life like twice already when he and the other Human mashed faces depriving themselves of air. She totally deserved a treat.

 **########**

Bacon worked on the lunches for the Captain, the XO and Commander Garnett. Today was toasted club sandwiches with salad for the Captain and chips for the XO and Commander Garnett. He snorted a laugh as the Captain would eat every unhealthy thing from a vending machine if he had to but turned his nose up at chips.

He layered the mayo on thick for the XO as that man appreciated good food. XO also didn't care about his arteries but hey, Bacon did not judge. He just enjoyed the work. Normally, he wouldn't put this much effort but with the skeleton crew on the ship and most going to St Louis for lunch. Well, he was saved from cooking for 200 sailors.

He placed the toasted bread on top and secured the sandwich together with four toothpicks. He was about to slice it when he felt something land on his left leg. He looked down and smiled as tiny grey puppy looked up at him imploringly.

"Hello, you must be the puppy who's been hiding on the ship. How did you get here?" He asked as he placed a piece of bacon on the floor. He didn't miss the humour in what he was doing. "Hm? No answer? you know you're going to get me into trouble." He said as he gave her a few more scraps from the cutting board.

The puppy licked his hand and then went straight to the bacon on the floor. Her tail wagging happily as she ate.

Bacon found a bowl and filled it with water and placed it on the floor near where there was a gap in the cabinetry. It made for a nice hidey hole as the puppy raced over and disappeared from view to have a drink.

It was lucky she had as Lt Caster walked into the wardroom galley. "What's the ETA on lunch for the Captain and the XO?" he asked.

"The Captain's ready, so take it and come back for the XO' and Commander Garnett's." Bacon told him, he turned back to check on the puppy but she had gone.


	8. Chapter 8

_Author's Note: Thank you all for the lovely reviews and I hoped you enjoyed as we have come to the end. I hope you enjoyed the story and thank you for reading :-)_

 **########**

"Once we clear this last section of the city, we can finally start housing our crew. We have a meeting with the Mayor at 1500 hours." Mike said, the door to Tom's stateroom opened but he didn't bother to look up from his notes as he, Andrea, Tom were going over the details of getting their crew off the ship for R&R so they could get into repairing the ship. He knew a crewman was coming in early with their lunches, so that they didn't have to stop to go to the wardroom.

"All sounds good." Tom said, the door to the stateroom closed.

"The only issue I'm having is a lack of supplies. St Louis is not a Navy port. They haven't got half of the items I need to get the ship sea worthy again." Andrea said told him.

"What about-" Tom stopped and looked over his shoulder, Mike and Andrea followed suit looking in the same direction as tiny grey puppy sniffed around Tom's desk before moving into his bedroom. They all frowned as there was a rule of no pets on the ship. Then they had to question their own security's proficiency given a puppy had made its way into the Captain's quarters.

Tom rose from his chair and went into his bedroom, playful yelps and tiny growls emitted from the puppy while Tom cursed but a few seconds later, he came back with puppy in his arms, it squirmed and yelped happily in his arms. It seemed like his serious demeanour made the puppy excited as if it recognised him as an Alpha dog and wanted him to be happy.

"I think we know why Officer Country has a foul smell of late." Tom remarked.

"I thought she was Tex's dog." Andrea said from her chair with a smile as the puppy tried to gnaw on Tom's pocket, he gently pushed her head away but ended up with his hand being caught in her teeth.

"Ow." He griped as he pulled his hand away and placed the puppy on the floor. She immediately sat down and looked up at him as if waiting for a treat. Her tail thumping on the floor. He frowned as she quickly got impatient and jumped on his leg trying to get up. She gave him puppy eyes begging to be picked up.

"You ok?" Andrea asked him mockingly.

"Yeah, no blood was drawn and I don't think it's Tex's dog." Tom said as Tex hadn't been on the ship the past couple of days. They would've known if the puppy was lose from then. No, someone on the ship had been hiding it, the puppy had a collar but no name tag. He knew Tex would have named the dog and put his details on a dog tag to the collar. The man had no reason to hide a dog.

Said puppy started to whine and lick at his knee, he reluctantly picked the puppy up and brought her into lap. Andrea smothered a smile while Mike shook his head. He didn't blame him as the puppy licking his hands and getting jittery with excitement for getting her way.

"I'll find out who the owner is and handle it." Mike assured him.

"Or we could have a little fun at their expense before we punish them." Andrea drawled in an amused manner.

"What do you suggest?" Mike asked, Andrea smiled evilly at them and the men knew that whatever she had planned would be amusing to say the least.

 **########**

"No, no, no, no,no." Burk said as his pack was empty, Laces was gone and he couldn't exactly put out a ship wide announcement without his ass being in the sling. They had just left the ship and when he went to open his pack he found Laces wasn't there. He wondered how he'd missed her running off, his bag had seemed lighter but he stupidly thought he was stronger.

"Where do you think she went?" Wolf asked as he, Miller and Cruz looked at him.

"Bacon's bunk?" Miller offered.

"What?" Burk asked him confused to why he would say it.

"She likes his eau de kitchen smell?" Miller offered as explanation which left them all confused.

"Water of the Kitchen?" Cruz asked him.

"I thought it meant smell or scent." Miller said.

"Nope." Cruz told him. Miller pondered on it while Wolf looked amused and Cruz looked smug.

"Can we focus?" Burk asked them, "Laces isn't in the bag, and if Ravit finds out I'm dead." he told them. Now he worried about what Laces was going to get into. What if she chewed on an electrical cord? What if she fell down stairs and hurt herself or worse; what if she took a dump in the Captain's quarters? Oh man, he had to find her quickly.

"Really? You're concerned about Ravit. I'd be more worried about the XO finding that puppy." Cruz told him.

"She could be anywhere on the ship by now." Burk said, he made the decision. "We have to go back,and find her before the Captain and XO." Burk told them.

"I'll gather the men." Wolf deadpanned.

"This isn't funny." Burk told him.

"You have to admit it is a little funny." Wolf told him.

 **########**

Laces chased after the ball the Human tossed for her as it was a fun game. She hadn't expected her day to go so well and to meet so many nice humans. She'd been right down in the belly of the best with the Human who has red hair, she let Laces follow her around until a Human called 'XO' brought her up to play with 'Jeter' with whom she was playing ball with was super nice. She found his name sounded funny to her ears but he was a real top Human. He didn't mind when she had to go answer nature's call. He even praised her for landing the stinker on the paper and given delicious meat.

He had a nice laugh and kind voice, which made her glad they had met. She picked up the ball in her mouth and ran back to him so he could throw it again. She dropped the ball at his feet, he chuckled at her enthusiasm and picked up the ball. She watched the ball and waited until he threw it again. When he did she chased after it.

 **########**

Hours later,

Mike sat in his chair at the wardroom table, puppy in his arms. He waited with smug patience as he like the other senior officer knew the junior officers and some NCO's were running around the ship trying to find the puppy. He could only imagine with every passing minute that they were afraid of him or Tom finding the puppy. Oh, how he'd enjoy watching them sweat bullets and fear for their social lives.

He stroked the top of the puppy's head, feeling very much like a James Bond villain. She snuffled and gave a tiny snore, completely subdued into a sleepy state from a good feed and a lot of attention and exercise from Andrea, Tom, Jeter and himself. They had played their own shell game with crew, making sure the puppy couldn't be found right away. Yes, they drew it out because they were evil and wanted the crew to learn a valuable lesson.

One he was sure they would all learn when they are asked the crew why they hadn't completed their tasks for the day. Mike did relish the game of innocently asking crew members why they weren't at their posts. Miller claimed he had the runs. Cruz a 'bad' headache. Wolf claimed with the team down he was on his own. Others who seemed to be in the know had their excuses and it was fun to watch them squirm but the game was finished.

So here he was, waiting and luckily the door the wardroom open and just as Mike predicted. Burk, Green, Foster, Val and Granderson stepped into the room all looking defeated and worried. Mike kept his face deceptively neutral as if it was completely normal for him to sitting with a puppy in his arms.

He watched with veiled amusement as it slowly dawned on each of them that he had their dog. This was more fun than watching them all run around the ship pretending they weren't searching for the puppy. He and Tom went to a lot of trouble with Jeter to make themselves known around the ship, making the crew nervous. But now the fun was over.

"So, who wants to explain?" Mike asked them, he already knew Foster and Granderson weren't the culprits as Foster was too practical and Granderson didn't know how to be around kids. Val hadn't left the ship. So he figured she'd baulk at a puppy which left Burk and Green.

"It was me." Val said much to everyone's surprise but not Mike's.

"Really, if I put this pup on the ground it will run to you?" He asked her.

"Yep, I've been feeding her cheetos hence the stench in that corridor. I'm sorry, I was lonely." Val told him with a shrug.

"How did you find it? You haven't left the ship since the day in the park." Mike said looking at her, he gave her his best 'I don't believe a word out of your mouth' Dad face. He was awesome at it given the experience of raising three kids and one of them a perpetual offender of bringing home strays and trying to hide them under her bed.

"I found it on that day she ship parked here and- Ok it's not me, sorry guys he's not believing me. I also think that dog needs a vet cause the smells she makes aren't natural." Val said giving up and moving to the coffee station to make herself a coffee.

"Then there were four." Mike drawled looking to the others.

"It was Burk. He found Laces for Ravit. Foster and Granderson knew nothing until Burk lost the puppy and we roped them into helping Burk." Green confessed, Mike snorted a laugh.

"Dude!" Burk exclaimed, while the others knew that they were not in the good books waited.

"I said, I'd throw you under the bus. All you had to do was ask to begin with." Danny told him.

"And yet Green, you were complicit in his crime." Mike pointed out.

"I-yeah." Danny admitted begrudgingly.

"I don't think I need to tell you how the ship is not a place for pets?" he asked them.

"No, Sir." The two men said.

"That it's against regs for a reason other than the foul stench?" He asked them.

"Yes, Sir." They piped again.

"So, Burk and Green. You're both going deep clean the whole of officer country and wherever else this puppy took a dump or marked its' territory." He informed them.

"Yes Sir," Burk and Green said.

"Good, let it be known that the Captain and I are not impressed with your behaviour or the crew's behaviour in aiding and abetting you four in this distraction. Yes, Granderson and Foster. We did not miss your involvement. So, you two will have the pleasure of taking the pup to its new home." Mike told them. Foster and Granderson looked ready to argue but Burk got in first.

"Sir, I was the one who is did everything. I should be the one to give Laces over to her new home and clean the ship by myself." Burk said taking full responsibility.

"Ok." Mike said.

 **########**

"Dude, this sucks." Miller said as he joined Burk for the trip to say goodbye to Laces. She had no clue what was going on as she was happy to be outside and exploring.

"I know, but I knew what I was doing. So I take the punishment. It's not like I have housing to hide Laces there. The XO said it was a good home." Burk said with a sigh as he was going to miss Laces. He also would have to tell Ravit; a conversation he wasn't looking for.

"Hmm, yeah, it still sucks." Miller remarked.

"Yeah." "Well, here we are." Burk said as they stood in front of a small single storey family home. He frowned as the yard looked like it could use some work and the house still had red crosses marked on the front door and the house front. It looked decrepit and abandoned.

"Are you sure?" Miller asked.

"It's the address, " Burk said, he gently tugged on Laces' leash as she'd been distracted by a bug and then they moved up the path to the door which was more of a ramp and knocked on the door.

He didn't know what to expect but when the door opened he was thoroughly surprised as it was Ravit. She was sitting in a wheel chair, looking up at him with a smile. But he was just stunned as the interior of the house was beautiful. He didn't understand, as he was supposed to be giving Laces to a good family.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her thoroughly confused as their friends came out into the hallway. Laces barked happily and tugged on her leash wanting to explore and say hello to everyone but Burk was a little consumed with questions and confusion.

"It's our new home, Stupid." Ravit told him, as she shook her head in amusement of his inability to connect the dots. "Come in." she said waving him in.

"Our home?" Burk said, he turned to Miller who was grinning instead of looking sad.

"Yeah, you got your wish bro." Miller said clapping a hand on his shoulder. "Are there any funyuns left?" he asked as he passed Burk to join the others. Kara begrudgingly offered him the packet she'd been hogging. He took a few and moved to the back of the group to watch Burk.

"I'm lost as to what's going on here." Burk said still confused by the too good to be true.

"This is our home." Ravit repeated with amusement.

"Surprise!" the others said in unison cheerfully.

"But the XO-" Burk started but Wolf cut him off.

"He knows. I asked him to pull some strings for Ravit to get housing that was wheelchair accessible and close to the hospital." Wolf said, clearing up the confusion.

"When?" Burk asked.

"As soon as I knew she was going to survive." Wolf said shaking his head at Burk not being able to get his act together. He felt for Ravit as she had to not only train Laces but Burk as well.

"So Laces-" Burk started.

"Gets to stay with us, but you're not off the hook. You still have to clean the ship." Ravit informed him, Burk smiled as it all finally sunk in. He may have picked up Laces from the street but his friends and the crew of the Nathan James had come together to help him out.

"Totally fine with me" Burk said with a grin.

 **########**

 **The End**


End file.
